SG Heritage Dictionary

Father [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. He who begets a child; in Latin genitor or generator.

2. The father of a fool hath no joy. Proverbs 17:21 .

3. The first ancestor; the progenitor of a race or family. Adam was the father of the human race. Abraham was the father of the Israelites.

4. The appellation of an old man, and a term of respect.

5. The king of Israel said to Elisha, my father shall I smite them? 2 Kings 6:21 .

6. The servants of Naaman call him father Elderly men are called fathers; as the fathers of a town or city. In the church, men venerable for age, learning and piety are called fathers, or reverend fathers.

7. The grandfather or more remote ancestor. Nebuchadnezzar is called the father of Belshazzar, though he was his grandfather. Daniel 5:2 .

8. One who feeds and supports or exercises paternal care over another. God is called the father of the fatherless.

9. Psalms 118:1 .

10. He who creates, invents, makes or composes any thing; the author, former or contriver; a founder, director or instructor. God as creator is the father of all men. John 8:16 . Jabal was the father of such as dwell in tents; and Jubal of musicians. Genesis 4:20 . God is the father of spirits and of lights. Homer is considered as the father of epic poetry. Washington, as a defender and an affectionate and wise counselor, is called the father of his country. And see 1 Chronicles 2:51 . 1 Chronicles 4:14 . 1 Chr 9:35. Satan is called the father of lies; he introduced sin, and instigates men to sin. John 8:16 . Abraham is called the father of believers. He was an early believer, and a pattern of faith and obedience. Romans 4:1 .

11. Fathers, in the plural, ancestors.

12. David slept with his fathers. 1 Kings 2:12 .

13. A father in law. So Heli is called the father of Joseph. Luke 3:8 .

14. The appellation of the first person in the adorable Trinity.

15. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19 .

16. The title given to dignitaries of the church, superiors of convents, and to popish confessors.

17. The appellation of the ecclesiastical writers of the first centuries, as Polycarp, Jerome, etc.

18. The title of a senator in ancient Rome; as conscript fathers.

19. Adoptive father he who adopts the children of another, and acknowledges them as his own.

20. Natural father the father of illegitimate children.

21. Putative father one who is only reputed to be the father; the supposed father

Father [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. One who has begotten a child, whether son or daughter; a generator; a male parent.

2. A male ancestor more remote than a parent; a progenitor; especially, a first ancestor; a founder of a race or family; -- in the plural, fathers, ancestors.

3. One who performs the offices of a parent by maintenance, affetionate care, counsel, or protection.

4. A respectful mode of address to an old man.

5. A senator of ancient Rome.

6. A dignitary of the church, a superior of a convent, a confessor (called also father confessor), or a priest; also, the eldest member of a profession, or of a legislative assembly, etc.

7. One of the chief esslesiastical authorities of the first centuries after Christ; -- often spoken of collectively as the Fathers; as, the Latin, Greek, or apostolic Fathers.

8. One who, or that which, gives origin; an originator; a producer, author, or contriver; the first to practice any art, profession, or occupation; a distinguished example or teacher.

9. The Supreme Being and Creator; God; in theology, the first person in the Trinity.

Father [Verb transitive] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. To make one's self the father of; to beget.

2. To take as one's own child; to adopt; hence, to assume as one's own work; to acknowledge one's self author of or responsible for (a statement, policy, etc.).

3. To provide with a father.

Father Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

This word, beside its common acceptation, is taken in Scripture for grandfather, great-grandfather, or the founder of a family, how remote soever. So the Jews in our Saviour’s time called Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, their fathers. Jesus Christ is called the Son of David, though David was many generations distant from him. By father is likewise understood the institutor of a certain profession. Jabal “was father of such as dwell in tents, and such as have cattle.” Jubal “was father of all such as handle the harp and organ,” or flute, &c, Gen. iv, 20, 21. Huram is called father of the king of Tyre, 2 Chron. ii, 13; and, 2 Chron. iv, 16, even of Solomon, because he was the principal workman, and chief director of their undertakings. The principal prophets were considered as fathers of the younger, who were their disciples, and are called sons of the prophets, 2 Kings ii, 12. Father is a term of respect given by inferiors to superiors. “My father,” said Naaman’s attendants to him, “if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing,” 2 Kings v, 13; and so the king of Israel addresses the prophet Elisha, 2 Kings vi, 21. Rechab, the founder of the Rechabites, is called their father, Jer. xxxv, 6. A man is said to be a father to the poor and orphans, when he supplies their necessities, and sympathizes with their miseries, as a father would do toward them: “I was a father to the poor,” says Job, xxix, 16. God declares himself to be the “Father of the fatherless, and Judge of the widow,” Psalm lxviii, 5. God is frequently called our heavenly Father, and simply our Father; eminently the Father, Preserver, and Protector of all, especially of those who invoke him, and serve him: “Is he not thy Father that bought thee?” says Moses, Deut. xxxii, 6. Since ...

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary
[534 words — estimated reading time: 4 minutes]

Father longlegs Webster's Dictionary 1913

See Daddy longlegs, 2.

Father-in-law [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

The father of one's husband or wife; and a man who marries a woman who has children by a former husband is called the father in law or step-father of those children.

Father-in-law [Verb transitive] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. To adopt; to take the child of another as one's own.

2. To adopt any thing as one's own; to profess to be the author.

3. Men of wit often father'd what he writ.

4. To ascribe or charge to one as his offspring or production; with on.

5. My name was made use of by several persons, one of whom was pleased to father on me a new set of productions.

Father-in-law [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

The father of one's husband or wife; -- correlative to son-in-law and daughter-in-law.

Father-lasher [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

A European marine fish (Cottus bubalis), allied to the sculpin; -- called also lucky proach.

Fathered [Participle passive] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. Adopted; taken as one's own; ascribed to one as the author.

2. Having had a father of particular qualities.

3. I am no stronger than my sex, being so father'd and so husbanded. [Unusual.]

Fathered [Imperfect tense and past participle] Webster's Dictionary 1913

of Father

Fatherhood [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. The state of being a father, or the character or authority of a father.

2. We might have had an entire notion of this fatherhood or fatherly authority.

Fatherhood [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

The state of being a father; the character or authority of a father; paternity.

Fathering [Participle present tense] Webster's Dictionary 1828

Adopting; taking or acknowledging as one's own; ascribing to the father or author.

Fathering [Present participle and verbal noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

of Father

Fatherland [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

One's native land; the native land of one's fathers or ancestors.

Fatherlasher [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

A fish of the genus Cottus or bull-head, called scorpius or scolping. The head is large and its spines formidable. It is found on the rocky coasts of Britain, and near Newfoundland and Greenland. In the latter country it is a great article of food.

Fatherless [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. Destitute of a living father; as a fatherless child.

2. Without a known author.

Fatherless [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. Destitute of a living father; as, a fatherless child.

2. Without a known author.

Fatherlessness [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

The state of being without a father.

Fatherlessness [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

The state of being without a father.

Fatherliness [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

The qualities of a father; parental kindness, care and tenderness.

Fatherliness [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

The qualities of a father; parantal kindness, care, etc.

Fatherly [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. Like a father in affection and care; tender; paternal; protecting; careful; as fatherly care or affection.

2. Pertaining to a father.

Fatherly [Adverb] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. In the manner of a father.

2. Thus Adam, fatherly displeased. [Not proper.]

Fatherly [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. Like a father in affection and care; paternal; tender; protecting; careful.

2. Of or pertaining to a father.

Fathers Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

a term of honour applied to the first and most eminent writers of the Christian church. Those of the first century are called Apostolical fathers; those of the first three centuries, and till the council of Nice, Ante-Nicene; and those later than that council, Post-Nicene. Learned men are not unanimous concerning the degree of esteem which is due to these ancient fathers. Some represent them as the most excellent guides, while others place them in the very lowest rank of moral writers, and treat their precepts and decisions as perfectly insipid, and, in many respects, pernicious. It appears, however, incontestable, that, in the writings of the primitive fathers are many sublime sentiments, judicious thoughts, and several things well adapted to form a religious temper, and to excite pious and virtuous affections. At the same time, it must be confessed, that, after the earliest age, they abound still more with precepts of an excessive and unreasonable austerity, with stoical and academical dictates, with vague and indeterminate notions, and, what is still worse, with decisions absolutely false, and in evident opposition to the commands of Christ. Though the judgment of antiquity in some disputable points may certainly be useful, yet we ought never to consider the writings of the fathers as of equal authority with the Scriptures. In many cases they may be deemed competent witnesses, but we must not confide in their verdict as judges. As Biblical critics they are often fanciful and injudicious, and their principal value consists in this, that the succession of their writings enables us to prove the existence and authenticity of the sacred books, up to the age of the Apostles. The following is a list of the entire fathers: Contemporaries of the Apostles, Barnabas, Clement of ...

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary
[818 words — estimated reading time: 5 minutes]

Fathers of the church Encyclopedia Britannica

FATHERS OF THE CHURCH. Ecclesiastically the word “father” is used in a variety of secondary significations. In the Old Testament even, we find the name applied to priests (Judg. xvii. 10, xviii. 19), and to prophets (2 Kings ii. 12, vi. 21, xiii. 14), as well as to kings (2 Kings v. 13); and in the days of later Judaism there was a definite office which was known as that of the Father of the Synagogue. In the Christian church almost every kind of spiritual relationship in which age or authority was in any way implied came to be expressed by some word denoting paternity. Thus we find such names as abba, papa, pater, bestowed occasionally upon godfathers, confessors, instructors, and almost invariably upon bishops and heads of monasteries The decrees of the council of Nice are often referred to as those of the 318 fathers. The expression “church fathers” (patre3 ecclesiastici), however, has come to be used in a comparatively definite and restricted sense, as denoting in the aggregate those teachers of the ancient church who, from the close of the apostolic age onwards, either orally or in writing expounded and defended the orthodox faith, and came to be acknowledged, either by tacit consent or by express declaration of the church, as duly qualified exponents of her doctrines. The title of father is generally held to imply soundness of doctrine, holiness of life, the approval of the church, and undoubted antiquity (Perrone). The word itself is fitted to suggest the idea of age, and also some such notion as that which is expressed in 1 Cor. iv. 15....

The patristic period of the church’s history is generally held to begin with the close of the apostolic age; but historians are not agreed as to the date at which it may be said to have closed. Some Roman Catholic writers speak of Bernard, who died in 1153, as having been the “last of the fathers,” while Greek patristic is often brought down so far as to the council ofFlorence. But it is usual to speak of the scholastic period as having begun with Anselm; and there seems to be no good reason for removing Bernard from the list of the schoolmen. As no very important author either in Latin or in Greek can be assigned to the centuries immediately preceding Anselm, it may therefore be said, roughly speaking, that the patristic period practically closed for the Eastern Church with Joannes Damascenus, and for the Western with Gregory the Great.

The patri.stic canon has never been quite definitely fixed, and no precise line of demarcation can be drawn between those ancient teachers of Christianity who are and those who are not entitled to be reckoned “fathers.” The name is often bestowed on some whose title when viewed from the standpoint of rigid orthodoxy cannot but be regarded as somewhat doubtful. While Arius and Eusebius of Nicomedia have obviously no title to be called “fathers,” it has not been thought necessary to withhold the honourable appellation from Origen or Tertullian. The authors usually named as fathers may be arranged according to chronology into three groups, called respectively the apostolic, the primitive, and the post-Nicene. The apostolic fathers, that is to say, the fathers who were to some extent contemporary with the apostles, are Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Polycarp, the author of the Shepherd of Hernias, and the author of the Epistle of Barnabas (see Apostolic Fathers). The chief primitive or ante-Nicene fathers are Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Origen, Clement of Alexandria, Cyprian, Tertullian, Gregory Thaumaturgus. Among the post-Nicene fathers may°be mentioned Ambrose, Athanasius, Augustine, Basil, Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem, Cyril of Alexandria, Epiphanius, Gregory of Nazianzum, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory the Great, Hilary, Jerome, and Leo. A distinction is usually recognized between the patres and those who were merely scriptores ecclesiastici, and it is to the latter category that such writers as Eusebius and Socrates the historians most properly belong. The Eastern and the Western Church have each four authors of note whom they recognize as fathers par excellence. Those of the Eastern are Athanasius, Basil, Chrysostom, and Gregory of Nazianzum. Those of the Western are Jerome, Ambrose, Augustine, and Gregory,—the fathers respectively of her monastic system, of her sacerdotal authority, of her scientific theology, and of her popular religion (Milman, Latin Christianity, b. it c. 4).

The study of the fathers has sometimes been regarded as constituting a distinct discipline called patrology or patristic, which, however, practically resolves itself into the church history of the first six centuries. For information on the individual fathers and on the influence they exerted upon one another and upon the thought and life of the church the reader is referred to the various articles, biographical, archaeological, and historical, relating to that period.

The much-disputed question as to the authority of the fathers resolves itself into the more general one as to the place of tradition considered as a source of dogma and a rule of life apart from the scriptures (see vol. v. p. 759). There seems to be no sufficient evidence for the statement made by Turrettin and others to the effect that some Catholic writers set the writings of the fathers individually on a level with the canonical scriptures; and it is certainly an exaggeration to say that Cardinal Cajetan regarded them as having no authority at all. The Tridentine doctrine is that no one is entitled to interpret scripture in a sense contrary to the interpretations of holy mother church or to the unanimoιιs consent of the fathers. Roman Catholic writers accordingly as a rule attach comparatively little weight to the peculiarities of individual fathers, and hold themselves committed to nothing that is not established by what they consider to be unanimous and unvarying tradition. They distinguish, moreover, between the function of the fathers as witnesses and their function as instructors. As witnesses to the tradition and teaching of the church, they give testimony which is binding on the Catholic conscience; as independent teachers, they are entitled to be listened to with deference and respect, but their interpretations and arguments are to be freely accepted or as freely rejected according to their merits. Protestant writers, while fully admitting the merits, literary and other, of many of the fathers, usually dwell much upon the admitted fact of their fallibility, and strive to show that the attempt to establish an unambiguous tradition by their means is in very many cases much more illusory than Catholic writers are disposed to allow. They do not, however, deny that on many important points there is such a thing as a consensus patrum; but this they regard as having at best no other authority than what is merely human and ecclesiastical, the Bible alone being the supreme rule of faith and life. The fundamental Protestant antithesis to the Tridentine doctrine according to which the canonical books and the traditions preserved by the church are to be received and reverenced “pari pietatis effectu ac reverentia”

is very clearly expressed in the sixth Article of the Church of England which declares that “Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation; so that whatsoever is not read therein nor may be proved thereby is not to be required of any man that it should be believed as an article of faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.”

The first writer in patrology may be said to have been Jerome, himself one of the greatest of the fathers. His work, De Viris Illustribus, sive Catalogus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum, was reprinted, along with the similar works of Gennadius of Marseilles, Isidore of Seville, and lldefonso of Toledo, by Fabricius in his Bibliotheca Ecclesiastica (1718). Among modern writers on this subject Mohler (Patrologie, 1842), Alzog (Grundriss der Patrologie, 1866), Engelhardt (Littcrarische Leitfaden zu Vorlesungen über die Patristik, 1823), and J. E. L. Danz (Initia doctrinae patristicoe, 1839) may be referred to. See also Cave’s Apostolici (1677) and Ecclesiastici (1683), Ittigii Tractatus de Bitt. Patr. (Lips.. 1707), and Dowling’s Notitia Scriptorum SS. Patrum (Oxon. 1839). The most important collective editions of the fathers are the Latin Magna Bibliotheca Veterum Patrum of De la Bigne (Paris, 1575), of which the Maxima Bibliotheca (Lyons, 1677) is an improved reprint, and the exhaustive Patrologies cursus completus of Migne, in which the collection of Latin authors, brought down to the time of Innocent III., occupies 221 volumes (Paris, 1844-1855), while the Greek division, extending to the council of Florence, is completed in 166 vols. (Paris, 1857-1866).

9th ed. Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 9, p. 49 — signed J. S. BL.
[1,430 words — estimated reading time: 9 minutes]

Fathers-in-law [Plural] Webster's Dictionary 1913

of Father-in-law

Fathership [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

The state of being a father; fatherhood; paternity.

King James Bible KJV Bible

Berean Standard Bible BSB Bible

1,703 KJV and 1,487 BSB verses contain “Father” — showing the first 20. Show all 1,849 verses (searchable)

Genesis 2:24

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

Genesis 4:18

And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.

Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methusael, and Methusael was the father of Lamech.

Genesis 4:20

And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.

Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and raise livestock.

Genesis 4:21

And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.

And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute.

Genesis 5:4

And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:

And after he had become the father of Seth, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.

Genesis 5:6

And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:

When Seth was 105 years old, he became the father of Enosh.

Genesis 5:7

And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters:

And after he had become the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters.

Genesis 5:9

And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:

When Enosh was 90 years old, he became the father of Kenan.

Genesis 5:10

And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:

And after he had become the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters.

Genesis 5:12

And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel:

When Kenan was 70 years old, he became the father of Mahalalel.

Genesis 5:13

And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:

And after he had become the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters.

Genesis 5:15

And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:

When Mahalalel was 65 years old, he became the father of Jared.

Genesis 5:16

And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters:

And after he had become the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters.

Genesis 5:18

And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:

When Jared was 162 years old, he became the father of Enoch.

Genesis 5:19

And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:

And after he had become the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.

Genesis 5:21

And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:

When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah.

Genesis 5:22

And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:

And after he had become the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters.

Genesis 5:25

And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech:

When Methuselah was 187 years old, he became the father of Lamech.

Genesis 5:26

And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters:

And after he had become the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters.

Genesis 5:30

And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters:

And after he had become the father of Noah, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters.